Bradlee to be awarded Medal of Freedom

8/8/13 4:00 PM EDT

Barack Obama will award 16 Presidential Medals of Freedom this year to a mix of athletes, politicians, pioneers, artists and Oprah Winfrey, the White House said Thursday.

Obama’s list includes President Bill Clinton, who will be the second president Obama has awarded the medal, following George H.W. Bush in 2011. Also to be awarded the medal is Ben Bradlee, The Washington Post editor who led the newspaper’s Watergate coverage.

“The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “This year's honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world. It will be my honor to present them with a token of our nation's gratitude."

No date was set for the ceremony.

Obama will also honor former Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who when Obama was a freshman senator often accompanied him on foreign trips, and Daniel Inouye, Hawaii's longtime senator who died last year.

Recipients include Ernie Banks, who had a Hall of Fame career after becoming the first black player for Obama’s hometown Chicago Cubs — though the president is a White Sox fan, and Dean Smith, the longtime basketball coach at the University of North Carolina who was instrumental in desegregating parts of the state.

The rest of the list includes Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut who died last year, country music singer Loretta Lynn, women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem, civil rights activists C.T. Vivian and Bayard Rustin, scientist Mario Molina, psychologist Daniel Kahneman, jazz musician Arturo Sandoval and Judge Patricia Wald, the first woman to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C.